Motivated by the Modi-Obama joint declaration on smart cities, Brookings India in collaboration with Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings Institution (Washington D.C.) initiated this study to come up with a blueprint for each of the three proposed smart cities – Ajmer, Allahabad and Visakhapatnam. Our study highlights the economic, demographic and spatial peculiarities of the three proposed smart cities and determines the existing investment gaps to provide universal coverage of key municipal services. The launch event will have a special focus on the governance and financing of Smart Cities in India to provide space for ongoing experimentation in the transformation of Indian urban spaces. This study also draws valuable lessons from international best practices regarding governance and financing of smart cities.

The research paper was launched by Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO NITI Aayog, Government of India.

Development Seminar Series Photographs

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Distinguished Fellow Rakesh Mohan (former deputy governor of the RBI) and Shamika Ravi (Senior Fellow, Brookings India) at the 1st Development Seminar on “Transporting India to the 2030s” on July 1, 2016

Dr. Subir Gokarn (Executive Director, IMF, and founding research director of Brookings India) at the Development Seminar on “Dr D. Subbarao on leading the RBI through 5 turbulent years” on August 5, 2016

Shamika Ravi (Senior Fellow, Brookings India) and Sumit Agarwal (Vice-Dean of Research, National University of Singapore) engage with the audience in the Development Seminar “Disguised Corruption: Evidence from Consumer Credit in China” on July 22, 2016

The Development Seminars Series @ Brookings India is a platform for global scholars to present their work to a curated audience of senior government officials, politicians, journalists, academics and policy enthusiasts. The format of the seminars includes a senior researcher as a lead presenter and a government/industry expert to discuss the results and relevance within the Indian context. The fundamental focus of the seminar series is to draw research-based insights to shape and influence policy dialogues in India, through purposeful and pointed discussions.